A Togruta female, Pav-ti Tano hailed from the planet Shili. She was the partner of Nak-il Tano and also the mother to Ahsoka Tano. Residing in a humble village, she held strong beliefs in her people's traditions and sought to bring Ahsoka on her inaugural hunt in 36 BBY, when she was still a young one. She ventured into the forests, hunting a kybuck to impart lessons of life and death to her daughter. Pav-ti successfully killed the creature, but a predatory raxshir soon appeared and snatched Ahsoka away.
Pav-ti was devastated, and the village dispatched numerous individuals to search for her missing daughter. That night, Ahsoka made her return, riding upon the back of the beast, which delivered her safely back to the village before silently departing. As Pav-ti and Nak-il, relieved, comforted their daughter, the village elder Gantika declared Ahsoka to be a Jedi. Later, in 33 BBY, Ahsoka was taken away from her family to undergo training with the Jedi Order.
Living in a small village, Pav-ti Tano was a Togruta female from the planet Shili. In 36 BBY, one night, Tano gave birth to a daughter with her partner, Nak-il Tano. On the evening of the baby's birth, many villagers came to visit the mother and her newborn, including the village elder, Gantika. Pav-ti then announced that she had named her daughter Ahsoka.
One year afterward, Pav-ti determined that Ahsoka had reached the age where she was ready to accompany her mother on her first ritual hunt in the forests of their homeworld, as was the traditional Togruta custom. Wearing a blue cloak, carrying a backpack, and securing her baby to her chest, Pav-ti stepped outside while Nak-il was working on their roof. Although Pav-ti strongly believed in her people's traditions, her partner was uncertain if their young daughter was prepared for the adventure. Nak-il thought the old ways were for the elderly, not for them, but Pav-ti remained firm and cautioned Nak-il against offending their ancestors' spirits. Nak-il smiled, accepted his partner's beliefs, and wished her and Ahsoka a successful hunt.
Pav-ti and Ahsoka encountered Gantika on their way into the forests for the hunt, and she marked both mother and child's foreheads with blue paint for good luck. Pav-ti emphasized the value of the life around them to her daughter as they journeyed through the forest. Eventually, Pav-ti spotted a herd of kybuck in the tall grass and shot one with her blaster rifle. Pav-ti approached the incapacitated kybuck and told a distressed Ahsoka that she had to face death. Before plunging a knife through its heart, causing the beast a quick death, the mother comforted the animal.
As Pav-ti prepared to take its body back to the village, a predatory raxshir approached her and her child. Pav-ti tried to ward off the feline before fighting it off with the butt of her rifle. However, when the raxshir noticed Ahsoka, Pav-ti began to fire at it. The sounds of her rifle alerted the villagers to trouble, and a group of them hurried into the forest to assist her. She then attempted to scare the creature off with her knife, but the raxshir managed to knock Pav-ti to the ground. As the raxshir moved in for the kill, Ahsoka distracted the creature, saving her mother's life. The Togruta's people then arrived and tried to shoot the beast. The raxshir leaped away, but not before grabbing Ahsoka by the scruff of her collar, leaving Pav-ti in great distress, and Nak-il to comfort her. Several village members began searching for Ahsoka.
By night, the Togruta had still not located Ahsoka or the raxshir, prompting Nak-il to suggest going out in force to rescue his infant daughter. It was then that the villagers heard the raxshir approaching them, but upon closer inspection, they discovered that Ahsoka was riding the beast. Pav-ti cautiously approached the raxshir in disbelief, and as the creature bowed, she took her baby from its back. She thanked the animal before it departed and returned to the forest. As their people surrounded them, Nak-il ran to his partner and daughter's side, and Pav-ti asked Gantika how her daughter's seemingly miraculous return could have occurred. Gantika smiled and proclaimed that Ahsoka was a Jedi, shocking her parents.
In 33 BBY, Jedi Master Plo Koon discovered a young Ahsoka and took her to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to train as a member of the Jedi Order. As she grew into adulthood, Ahsoka had little memory of either of her parents. When the young farmer Kaeden Larte on the moon Raada asked about her upbringing in 18 BBY, Tano, wanting her identity as a former Jedi to remain a secret, replied that she had been adopted.
Pav-ti Tano was a Togruta female who had orange skin, white-and-blue patterned lekku and montrals, and blue eyes. Her face also featured white markings. Pav-ti strongly adhered to her people's old traditions and practices, unlike her more laidback partner, Nak-il. Pav-ti could speak both Togruti and Galactic Basic Standard. A gentle and caring mother, Pav-ti was fiercely protective of her family. She believed that her people's values of recognizing life and facing death were important, taking Ahsoka on her first ritual hunt to teach her about their ways despite Nak-il's initial protests. Ultimately, Pav-ti's lesson to Ahsoka about valuing all forms of life helped her daughter connect with the natural world and, by extension, connect with the Force. Although Ahsoka would not remember much about her mother as she grew older, Pav-ti's lesson would remain with her throughout her many adventures.
Pav-ti was skilled with a blaster rifle, managing to incapacitate a kybuck with a single shot. She was also adept with a knife, which she used to stab the kybuck through the heart, causing it a swift and painless death. Pav-ti was also able to fend off and survive an attack from the raxshir.
Pav-ti wore a white long-sleeved shirt, a blue cloak, light blue pants, and brown boots. She had a belt with pouches attached to it. Pav-ti used a walking stick during the hunt while venturing into the forest. She later used both a blaster rifle and a knife on the hunt, wielding both weapons capably.
Pav-ti Tano was first indirectly mentioned in the 2016 novel Ahsoka, written by E. K. Johnston. Following Star Wars Celebration Anaheim on May 29, 2022, she was later identified as Pav-ti in an article published on StarWars.com in the lead-up to the animated television series Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, where she first appeared in the series' first episode, "Life and Death," which was released on Disney+ on October 26, 2022. The StarWars.com Databank later provided her surname of Tano. Janina Gavankar, who had previously portrayed Imperial Commander Iden Versio in the 2017 video game Star Wars Battlefront II, voiced Pav-ti. Gavankar's role was announced at Celebration Anaheim on May 28, 2022, during the show's panel. Gavankar, having previously worked in the Star Wars franchise, described herself as a caretaker of the story and expressed her happiness in helping to further it in new and exciting ways. She described the show as minimalistic, quiet, and reserved.
Although Pav-ti did not appear until Tales of the Jedi, Dave Filoni, the show's supervising director, first conceived of a reference to Ahsoka Tano's mother during script-writing for the fourth season of the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, specifically for the episode "Escape from Kadavo," which premiered January 6, 2012, a decade before Tales of the Jedi. Filoni included a scene in an early version of the script in which the Togruta governor Gupat Roshti told Ahsoka that he knew her parents, implying that her instinct to save the people of Kiros was due to them. However, the writers dropped the idea because they did not want to flesh out Ahsoka's backstory. Filoni also stated that he felt that Roshti saying that felt like a "mean" thing to do.
Molly Denmark, a concept artist, created several lighting concepts for the episode that included Pav-ti, including depictions of the Togrutan village, the surrounding forest, and Pav-ti and Ahsoka during the hunt. Chris Madden, another artist, also worked on concept art of Pav-ti. Justin Bruce Lee, an associate storyboard artist, created storyboards for the episode that included scenes of Pav-ti and Ahsoka during the hunt as well as Pav-ti's battle with the raxshir.